Average cost of health insurance

TDA |
April 6, 2008

Q:
What is the average cost of health insurance?

A:
A
well-publicized study by Kaiser Foundation reported that the average cost of employer-provided health insurance was slightly more than $1,000 per month for family coverage
in 2007. This is a national average; the cost varies considerably from state to
state.

MedSave.com reports that the average cost of individually purchased family coverage was less than $400 per month. The difference is
attributable to policy deductibles, ancillary benefits like dental and vision coverage and state-specific mandated coverage. Individually purchased health insurance tends to be more "plain vanilla" catastrophic coverage.

Family coverage is typically priced at 2.5 to 3.0 times the rate of insurance for a single person.
Price can be greatly affected by age and health. Most
college students pay less than
$100 per month for their health insurance.